Dreams and Nightmare Towns
by Grammarness
Summary: Crichton, Chiana, Aeryn, Rygel, Sikozu and baby D'Argo are on board Moya, post PK Wars. Chiana is struggling to get over D'Argo's death, John and Aeryn are trying to keep everyone together, and Sikozu isn't too happy with being held in a cell because no one else in the galaxy will take her. What will happen when they enter the space of a severely male-dominated society?
1. Chapter 1

"I don't see why she has to be on the ship. We seem to have some strange habit of letting traitors back on to our ship-" Rygel began, before John cut in, "You mean like that time we let you back after you tried to sell us out to Scorpius?"

"That was different. You knew I was doing it at least."

"Sikozu's here because she can't go anywhere else. The Peacekeepers don't want her because she double crossed them with the Scarrans; the Scarrans don't want her because they're the frelling Scarrans, like they'd help an ex-spy; and the Kalish, well, I don't get that one, something about an underground." He sighed, "I don't like it either, but until we can find somewhere else… Well, she's here. Just keep Pip away from her and everything will be fine." Rygel gave Crichton a disbelieving look and sped his throne up down an adjacent corridor. Crichton watched him leave, then sighed again. Nothing is ever easy.

.

...

.

"That frelling traitor killed D'Argo!" Chiana screamed at Aeryn, as Crichton walked in.

"Well, technically that was the Scarrans, and she'd actually been stopped from spying by that point, and it was a war which is now over so it's not like she's going to do it again," Aeryn was clearly trying to use her _I'm not angry, I'm calm_ voice, and it wasn't going down well with Chiana.

"Pip, D'Argo's gone." Crichton pulled her to look at his face, "Leaving our friends out to die for their mistakes isn't going to change that. I know you're angry, we're all angry, and that's why she's locked in a cell." He brushed her hair back with his hand, "D'Argo's death was a trag-" She pulled away from him and went running from the room.

Crichton straightened up. "Well, that could have gone better."

Aeryn stared at him incredulously, "You think?"

.

...

.

Crichton woke up to a sound. He looked around; Aeryn was asleep next to him, her hair wildly sprayed across the bed, and baby D'Argo was asleep in his cot on the other side too. He had just started to wonder if he'd imagined it when he heard it again – a strange, choking sound. Definitely made by a living being. He shook Aeryn's leg to wake her up, motioning her to be silent. "Heard something," he mouthed at her. She nodded and silently slid out of bed, checking on D'Argo on her way past. They grabbed their pulse pistols and moved in to the corridor.

They moved stealthily through the corridors, checking the other sleeping quarters as they moved past them, ever listening for the noise. Chiana was not in her room. Crichton commed Pilot, his suspicions that something was up confirmed. Pilot had nothing to report, so they continued their search.

"Is it getting colder?" Aeryn mouthed from across the corridor. "Mmm, very weird," he replied.

The sound again, louder this time.

And again.

Crichton slowly approached the door to D'Argo's old quarters, Aeryn flanking him. They nodded at each other, then quickly waved the door open and moved in.

.

...

.

"Oh, Pip…" Crichton quickly passed his pulse pistol to Aeryn, the source of the strangled noise apparent. Chiana was huddled in the freezing room, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees. She didn't look up until Crichton had crouched beside her and wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"What are you doing, little one?"

"N-n-n-nothing." Her eyes were wild, struggling to focus on his face and flicking around at odd times.

Aeryn gestured at him from where she was examining the bulkhead on the other side of the room, "She's disconnected the environmental controls, no heat in to this room or any of the adjoining ones. Must've done it days ago for it to lose this much heat." Crichton nodded, turning back to Chiana.

"Pip? Chi? Can you look at me?" She turned her head at the sound of his voice, her eyes had calmed down a bit in the time they'd been there but there was still an edge of madness to her expression.

"Come on, let's get her back in to the warmth." Crichton nodded at Aeryn, then lifted Chiana up in to his arms. She curled against his chest and closed her eyes.

"Oh, Pip…"

.

...

.

Crichton turned to head to Chiana's room, but Aeryn shook her head. "She'll just go back there, it's only being around us that's sobering her up from the psychosis." Crichton nodded and followed her to their room.

He gently placed Chiana down on their bed while Aeryn went to check on D'Argo, who had slept through his parents leaving. Chiana opened her eyes, finally able to focus on John's face. He gathered the bed covers around her, trying to warm her still chilled skin, as he crouched next to the bed.

"H-hey Cr-Crichton," Chiana murmured.

"What were you doing, little one?" He stroked her hair, "How long have you been doing this?" She shut her eyes to the sound of his voice, he rubbed her cheek.

Crichton looked over Chiana's head to Aeryn. He moved his hand away from Chiana's face and went to stand up, but her eyes flew open and she reached out to grab at his shirt. "Shh, shh, I'm still here," he unhooked her fingers from his shirt and carefully placed her hand back on the bed. Her eyes followed him across the room, but she struggled to keep them open.

"So, thoughts?" Crichton whispered to Aeryn, standing over D'Argo's cot.

"Go back to bed sounds like a perfect plan to me. I intend to take complete advantage of D'Argo being asleep," she whispered back.

"Did you not notice the new addition to our bed? I thought the reason we came here was because we couldn't leave her alone."

"Aren't you the one from the planet where the gnarls afraid of the dark sleep in the adults' bed? I watched enough TV to learn your parenting techniques." Crichton appraised her face, trying to see if she was kidding. He eventually decided she was being serious.

"Are you sure that's… wise? I mean, she's not, well, she's…" Crichton trailed off, gesturing vaguely with his hands in Chiana's direction.

"Crichton, Chiana thrives on contact, affection, touch." Aeryn dropped her voice even lower. "I'm not telling you to frelling frell her, but she needs comfort and for Chiana that's another person nearby. A person who cares about her and isn't trying to get in to her pants. And this way we can make sure she gets some sleep and doesn't go off torturing herself in D'Argo's room again, plus we get sleep too."

He had to admit, Aeryn made a good argument. After a pause, Crichton nodded. He reached up to cup her chin, kissing her mouth lightly before they both turned to return to the bed.

Crichton pulled the covers back from Chiana, she looked up and gave half a smile. Her eyes are still a bit crazy, he thought, and she's still frelling freezing. He slid in beside her as on the other side Aeryn did the same. Chiana curled around Crichton, sliding under his arm and laying her head on his chest.

"D'Argo…" she murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

Baby D'Argo woke first, like normal. Aeryn looked over at Chiana, sprawled across Crichton, and chuckled. She slipped out from under the covers and went to feed D'Argo.

"Hey Pip," John stroked Chiana's hair off her face as she turned to look at him.

"Hey old man." She looked around, growing confusion on her face. "How did I get here? Did we, uhh," she looked furtively at Aeryn, then back to Crichton.

He chuckled quietly. "No, Pip." He placed his hands on her hips, sitting her up on the bed. Once she was off him, he sat up to face her. "Do you remember going to D'Argo's room?"

She avoided eye contact, suddenly keen to get off the bed. Crichton caught her shoulders, spinning her back to look at him.

"Chi, how long have you been doing that?" She shrugged, trying to turn away again. "Chi, you were frozen to the bone and half-crazed when we found you. You need-"

"Don't tell me what I need, Crichton." She snapped, pulling free of him and getting off the bed. "I can look after myself." She left.

Crichton looked over at Aeryn, who raised her eyebrow. "Hey, she reacts better to you than me." Aeryn put the now satiated D'Argo down on the bed with his Dad and headed for the door.

John tickled baby D'Argo's feet, "Do you know how to fix it, little man?" D'Argo giggled. "I sure don't."

.

...

.

Crichton carried D'Argo as he walked down the corridor, bouncing the boy up and down. He rounded the corner to Command, and stopped dead. His hand was only halfway to his pulse pistol, he'd been slowed by the extra burden in his hands.

Aeryn was being held with an arm around her neck and a pulse pistol to the head. There were five of them, one holding Aeryn, three with their pulse pistols on Crichton and baby D'Argo, and a different kind of alien hiding in the back. "Whoa, who the frell are you?" One of the aliens with a pulse pistol removed Winona from Crichton's holser.

"Is this your female?" The alien gestured at Aeryn.

"What?" Crichton replied, "You go to all of that effort to sneak aboard our ship, hold pulse pistols to our heads, and your first question is about who I'm dating?"

"She's his," the different alien spoke up, "his scent's all over her. Baby's hers too."

The alien with his arm around Aeryn's neck released her, pushing her towards Crichton. John motioned for her to remain silent and passed D'Argo to her.

"We're conducting an inspection," the first alien to talk addressed Crichton, "There are strict rules for unaccompanied females in our space, and offworlders are known for breaching them." The one holding Winona passed her to the leader.

"Well, you've seen me, no unaccompanied females here."

"Unaccompanied by a properly certified mate. The search will continue. You will remain here, with the female and the child. Those found on the ship will be brought here." He motioned and the three with guns headed out. Crichton and Aeryn exchanged a look.

.

...

.

One of the guns returned with Rygel in tow. "Male," he barked at his leader, before heading out again.

Aeryn took the opportunity, with the aliens' attention on Rygel and his captor, to whisper to Crichton, "They don't know about Pilot yet. They came to Command first wanting to slow the ship down, I managed to warn Pilot to let them but I haven't been able to comm him since."

"What up, Sparky?" Crichton asked to cover their conversation.

"A thoroughly undignified way to be woken, that's what's up."

.

...

.

Two of the guns came in, each holding one of Chiana's arms while she screamed and kicked at them.

Crichton stood up. "Chiana!" He barked at her, "Stop it, now." She stopped screaming, staring confusedly at him. "Release her," Crichton ordered to the lead alien.

The lead alien motioned for the different one to come forward. He approached Chiana, sniffing her intently. "Definitely his. Slept with both him and the other female last night." The two aliens holding Chiana released her, sending her sprawling towards Crichton, who caught her. They headed out again.

Crichton slid his hands to Chiana's hips, pulling her closer. "Jump," he directed. She tipped her head sideways, looking at him with her slightly unfocused eyes. She didn't look as bad as the night before, but it was not a welcome sign. "Jump," he said again. She obeyed, jumping to wrap her legs around his waist. He leaned to her ear, "Kiss my neck, whatever, just act like you're trying to seduce me." She giggled, more than willing to oblige.

With her balanced on his hips, Chiana's comms badge was just about at his mouth level. "Pilot," John whispered. "Can you talk?" Chiana nuzzled John's neck.

"Yes, Commander, though they're getting closer," came the reply. Crichton rubbed his hand along her bum, checking that the aliens were buying his ruse.

"Get one of the DRDs to take the clothes on my floor, there's my black t-shirt and white calvins that I slept in last night. Take them to Sikozu without being seen. She needs to rub them all over, it's vitally important that she smell like me."

"Understood, Commander."

Crichton let Chiana go for a short time more, then lightly slapped her bum and told her to get down. Standing next to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lent in to his chest. He wondered how well she'd be able to keep up the ruse in this state.

.

...

.

"Captain?" The lead alien's comm badge beeped.

"Go ahead."

"We've found another one, says he's the pilot. We can't move him, he's connected to the ship."

"You stay with him, the others can continue the search." The leader flicked off his comms.

.

...

.

Crichton heard footsteps in the corridor. He quickly unwrapped Chiana's arms from his waist and guided her to sit on the floor at Aeryn's feet. Baby D'Argo gurgled in her arms as Aeryn adjusted her hold on him, freeing up one arm to place on Chiana's shoulder.

"Stay," Crichton ordered Chiana, using his pointed finger to emphasis his words, "Stay with Aeryn." Chiana nodded, and John moved away.

They dragged Sikozu in the same way they had Chiana, although she kicked and screamed a lot less. The different alien came forward again to inspect her, while the leader addressed Crichton, "Another wife, perhaps?"

Crichton crossed his arms in response, "Release her."

"Only a faint scent, not like the others," the scented alien proclaimed.

"Collar her," the leader directed and one of the aliens removed a collar from his belt, releasing her so that she was held by only one alien.

"Unhand her, she's mine," Crichton ordered. The alien began placing the collar on Sikozu's neck.

"I think not, you slept only with those two. The scent is from living in close proximity to you. You will be fined for improper transportation of females and she will be removed from your care, a mate will be found for her on our planet. I will prepare the necessary documentation."

"Tell me, did you find her behind a locked door?" Crichton grabbed the alien attaching the collar's shoulder, spinning him around. "Perhaps you've never heard of the naughty corner technique, made famous by Super Nanny, but it works a charm." He released the alien and wrapped his arm around Sikozu's waist, while her arms were still held by the other alien. He put his other hand on her chin, moving her head to emphasise his point. "I did not sleep with her because she's in a serious amount of trouble and is grounded." He released her chin and lightly slapped her cheek, then dropped his hand. "But she. Is. Mine." Crichton growled the last three words out, glaring at the alien leader.

The leader merely glared back. "I have made my decision."

Crichton punched the alien still holding Sikozu and snatched her out of his arms. He slung his arm around her waist and practically threw her on to the table. "Do you want me to frell her right here? Would that prove it to you?" He pulled her back to the edge and slid his hand up her thigh, she shivered but did not force him away. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Aeryn's knuckles going white as she held Chiana down. "Do you want to watch?" He roughly pushed Sikozu on to her stomach and began undoing the fastenings at her neck. He tried to fumble slightly more than necessary to try to make his ruse last longer.

"Stop. I believe you."

"Thank you, so much." Crichton released Sikozu and turned back to the aliens. She crawled to the other side of the table and curled in to the foetal position.

Crichton glared at the alien leader as he indicated for the guns to leave and continue searching. "This had better be over quickly," John threatened.

He moved to the other side of the table where Sikozu was. "Hey Sputnik," he whispered, gently stroking her face. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes which she quickly blinked away. He lifted her shoulders and pulled her towards him, then moved his hands to her hips to ease her off the table. He tucked her under his arm as she wrapped hers around his chest, and they walked over to where Aeryn and Chiana were. He guided Sikozu to stand on the opposite side of Aeryn as Chiana was, still worried Chiana would launch herself at Sikozu again. Crichton worked on the collar around Sikozu's neck, fumbling to get it off.

.

...

.

"Captain, we've finished the search. There's no one else on board." The leader of the aliens comms went off again. Sikozu dropped her arms from around Crichton and he stepped forward, away from her.

"Ok, moving out," the lead alien replied.

Crichton walked towards the leader, "I'll see you off my ship." He turned Aeryn, Sikozu and Chiana, "You three stay here." Crichton and the two aliens left Command.

"I'm issuing you with a permit for three females," the lead alien addressed Crichton in the hanger.

"Right."

The alien handed John the permit and Winona, then headed to his ship. Crichton watched until the ship was gone. Damn this part of the galaxy needs some serious feminism, he thought.

"Pilot?"

"Yes, Commander?" Pilot replied through the comms.

"Is the ship completely clear of Moya?"

"Yes, it's gone."

"Are you guys ok?"

"Moya and I are fine. We're a little embarrassed, we don't know how they got aboard without us knowing."

"Don't stress, Pilot. Probably some weirdass alien technology."

.

...

.

Crichton walked back in to Command. Sikozu was pacing, Aeryn still had her hand on Chiana's shoulder, and Rygel was hovering anxiously looking out the window. "Is everyone ok?" John asked.

"Are they gone? Can we leave here?" Rygel span to address Crichton.

"Sure Sparky, go gorge yourself on food cubes." At Crichton's words, Rygel sped out.

Crichton moved towards the girls, "Are you guys ok? Aeryn?" She nodded. "Pip?" She glared. "Sikozu?"

"I'm fine, let's just get the locking me back in my cell over with." She marched out.

"Wait here," Crichton said to Aeryn and Chiana, as he raced after Sikozu. "Sputnik! Wait up!" She powered down the corridor.

He jogged up behind her, grabbing her wrist. She wrenched it free, "Leave. Me. Alone."

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the bulkhead, "Hey, come on, we need to talk." She struggled. "Sikozu, I am so, so sorry about what I did in there."

"It's fine, you were trying to save my life. Let's just move on." She tried to push his hands away.

"What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing. Just leave it. Throw me in my cell and walk away."

"Sikozu, why don't you take the opportunity of having someone who actually wants to help you and let them do so?"

"If you must know, it's not the first time a male of a species has done that. It was not pleasant being reminded of it. Now, can we go?"

John reluctantly dropped his arms, "Just, know that you can talk to me if you need."

"Crichton, you are my captor and an inferior species. I will not be coming to cry to you or to frell away my memories like some common tralk."

"Well, glad to see you've got your sense of humour back…"

.

...

.

Crichton and Sikozu rounded the corner to her quarters. "I'm working on Chiana," Crichton began, "Once she's a little more coherent then we can discuss what your future will be. It's not going to be easy to work back trust, you know. I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you, right now." She nodded, why did the human always have to state the obvious?

They turned in to Sikozu's room.

Sitting in the corner, with her back against the wall, was a girl who looked to Crichton's eyes to be no older than 12 or 13. She was clearly of the same species as the male aliens who'd invaded Moya, and she had a collar like the one they'd put on Sikozu. She was clutching the clothes the DRDs had brought from Crichton's room.

"Who the frell is that?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Aeryn…" Crichton commed, "We need you in Sikozu's cell. Uhh, now." In Command, Aeryn quickly passed D'Argo to Chiana and ran down the corridor.

Crichton nudged Sikozu, "Let's just wait over here at the door for Aeryn," he whispered. The girl glanced furtively under her lashes at them regularly, but made no other movement.

Crichton heard footsteps in the corridor and turned to see Aeryn run in, pulse pistol raised. She stopped short when she saw the scene. "Who the frell is that?"

"My thoughts exactly," Crichton whispered back, eyes on the girl in the corner.

Aeryn dropped her voice to the level of Crichton's, "Has she said anything?"

"No, and I think you should be the one to talk to her. I don't think females from that planet would be that in to men…"

Aeryn nodded and approached the girl, crouching next to her. "Hello?" The girl shrank away from her. "I'm not going to hurt you." The girl shook her head slightly. "What's your name?" No response. "I'm Aeryn." She waited, but there was still no response from the girl. "Can you speak?"

Aeryn turned to Crichton, shrugging. Crichton turned to Sikozu, whispering, "Do you know this species?" She shook her head. Crichton turned back to Aeryn and motioned encouragingly towards the girl.

"Can you understand me?" Pause. "What's your name?" Pause. "Where are you from?" Still no response.

"She's from a planet where women are property," Sikozu started, "Perhaps she does not have translator microbes." Crichton nodded, then quietly commed Pilot to arrange microbes. The girl screamed when the DRD injected her, before quickly stopping herself and sending a terrified glance to Crichton. She hung her head and stared at the floor.

"Sorry, we didn't think you could understand us. We injected you with something that will translate what we say, can you understand me now?" The girl slowly raised her head to look at Aeryn speaking, realisation dawning on her face.

"Y-yes," she whispered.

"Good, my name is Aeryn. What's yours?"

"Clarynia."

"Now, Clarynia, not to put too fine a point on it, but why are you on our ship?" The girl's head instantly returned to pointing at the floor. Aeryn looked back to Crichton, who gave her a look. 'What?!' she mouthed at him. She turned back to the girl, "Clarynia we want to help you, but we can't do that if we don't know what kind of help you need."

She raised her head to glance at Crichton, before hastily lowering it again.

"Clarynia?" Aeryn prompted.

"I- I- Iranaway, you can't makemegoback," she said in a rush. "Please," she grabbed Aeryn's sleeve, "Please."

"What did you run away from?"

Clarynia shook her head in response.

"Is someone looking for you?" Pause. "You need to tell me what's going on, who did you run away from?" Pause. "Clarynia I can't help you if I don't know." The girl shook her head again, refusing to answer Aeryn's questions.

"Aeryn," Crichton called, indicating the hallway with his head. She nodded and stood up, disentangling Clarynia's hand and following Crichton to the hallway.

"I think we've got all we're going to get from her for now," Crichton began quietly.

"I agree," Aeryn whispered. "Let's take her to a cell and see if she gets more talkative later. And see if we can do some research on her species."

"Good, I'll have Pilot prepare one. And get that collar off her, freaks me out."

.

...

.

"I say we call the planet immediately and tell them she's here," Rygel began, "I don't want to get on the wrong side of those louts and we have no reason not to pack her off straight away." Those members of the crew not locked in cells – Rygel, Crichton with baby D'Argo, Aeryn and Chiana – were gathered in Command.

"Thanks for being the voice of compassion, Sparky," Crichton sighed. "I'm not happy with making a decision on her future until we know more about what's she running from. She could just be a kid running away for 3 arns so she can get attention, or she might be actually fleeing from something. And having met the males of her species, I'm thinking it could be the latter."

"She ain't our problem, simple as that," Chiana interjected.

"You weren't our problem either, Chi, but somehow you're still here," Crichton replied. She stuck her tongue out at him. At least she's looking perkier, he thought.

"We can't just wave them and say we've got their gnarl anyway, they'd probably throw Crichton in jail for 'transporting females' or some such frell," Aeryn said.

"Ok, so we need to get some facts-" Crichton began.

"Commander," Pilot's face appeared on the clam shell, "The DRDs are reporting that Clarynia's behaving oddly. I think one of you should get down there."

"On our way, Pilot," Aeryn replied as she headed for the door. Crichton tried to hand D'Argo to Chiana, but she refused, skipping after Aeryn. "Alright Sparky, looks like it's your turn to babysit," he said to Rygel, handing the baby over before drawing Wynona and running down the corridor after the girls.

.

...

.

"What's she doing?" Crichton whispered to Aeryn as he came up behind her, "And where did Chiana go?"

"Chiana took one look at the girl and freaked out, running off somewhere. No frelling idea why," she whispered back, "And I don't know what the kid's doing either. One second she's pacing, next she's throwing herself on the bed, then she's screaming out something unintelligible, then back to pacing." Crichton watched as the girl through herself on the bed, as Aeryn had predicted, then got up and marched around the room.

"Does she look a little… unfocused to you?" He asked.

"Frell, I don't know what she's supposed to look like, but yeah. I guess."

"Ok, you stay here and watch her, see if you can work out what's wrong or if this even is wrong for her. I'll find Pip."

"We still need to replace the coils in the second tier, Pilot said the fault could project in to Moya's starburst chamber if we don't fix it."

"Frell. We can't run this ship with only two people; we've got more dependents than workers! D'Argo's with Rygel, for crying out loud." Aeryn gave him a look "Who I'm sure will be a very good babysitter…" He trailed off. "Ok, I'm going to get Sputnik to do the maintenance. At least we know she knows what she's doing with Leviathans." Aeryn reluctantly nodded and Crichton left.

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...

.

"What do you want, human?" Sikozu rolled her eyes as Crichton approached her cell.

"I have a job for you," he replied.

"I thought you didn't trust me as far as you could throw me."

"Yeah, but you've got that shifting centre of gravity thing, I could probably throw you a fair distance if I really tried," he grinned at her. "But in all seriousness, we need maintenance done, and Aeryn's currently watching a potentially crazy gnarl, or it could be perfectly normal for her species, who knows; Rygel's babysitting and is rubbish as maintenance anyway; and Chiana's having her own crazy gnarl moment and I need to go find her. Which leaves our lovely Leviathan specialist here."

"Are you going to lock me up again afterwards?"

"I would definitely see your assistance with the ship as a step in the right direction for healing relationships and letting you back on the Crew, and I'm sure Aeryn would too," he replied guardedly.

She considered for a moment. "Fine. Just tell me what needs doing." Crichton unlocked her cell and handed her comms badge back.

.

...

.

"Chiana, please respond," Crichton commed, having been trying to reach her for a quarter arn already. "Pilot, you're sure the DRDs don't know where she is?"

"Yes, Commander. They have checked Ka D'Argo's quarters multiple times already, as you requested, and none of the others report seeing her. I do not know where she is."

Realisation dawned on Crichton's face, "Starburst chamber. Of course." He jogged down the corridor.

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...

.

"Chiana, open the door." Crichton knocked on the entrance to the starburst chamber again. "Chiana, this isn't funny, open the door." He knocked harder. "Chiana!" He called with a growing edge of anger in his voice. The door slowly opened to reveal Chiana, with half her clothes torn off, staring at the ground.

"Frell, what happened? Are you ok?" Chiana backed away from him, refusing to make eye contact. He reached out to grab her arms but she danced away from him, still looking anywhere but his face. He watched her for a second, then moved to the middle of the room and sat down. He went to cross his arms then deliberately lowered his hands to his knees, trying to keep his body language open.

He waited.

"I think," she paused. "I think. I. I don't know what I think anymore." He nodded, waiting for her to continue. "One minute I'm fine, and then, I don't know. I _don't frelling know!_" She kicked the wall. Crichton tried not to jump and made a mental note to check it out later, Moya didn't need her starburst capabilities damaged.

"I can't stop thinking about him." She paced around the room. "But it's not always good. Sometimes I can't stop seeing his face when he found out I slept with Jothee…" She trailed off. Crichton resisted the urge to get up and hug her; she would come to him when she was ready. Aeryn was always yelling at him that he needed to stop acting like he could fix everything and just listen once in a frelling while.

She stopped and crouched down on the other side of the chamber, facing Crichton but still not looking at him. "I wish I'd died, instead of him." She was whispering now, speaking so quietly that Crichton almost had to strain to hear her. "He was strong and useful and good, and he's gone and I'm still here."

Crichton opened his arms wide and Chiana moved towards him, crawling her way on to his lap. She lent her head against his shoulder and started to cry. He smoothed her hair and made reassuring noises.

"Don't ever think that, Pip."


	4. Chapter 4

"We're going to get through this, you know that right?" Crichton asked Chiana, who still sat curled in to him on his lap as he sat on the floor of the starburst chamber. She nodded slowly in response. "But it's going to take some work," he continued, "Are you up for that?" She nodded again. "Ok, want to start by answering some of my questions?"

"I guess…" She replied guardedly.

"Why'd you freak out when you saw the girl?" He absent-mindedly fiddled with a torn edge of her clothing, reflecting that she'd have had to be pretty crazed to tear the fabric this much with her bare hands.

"Jeez, Crichton, I don't know. The whole thing this morning with the aliens was drell, and then I dunno, I looked at her and I just…" she trailed off and shrugged. "I don't know, don't psychoanalyse me, you'll end up frelled in the head." She giggled, but it sounded a little forced to Crichton's ears.

"Alright, just so long as you're not going to go throwing things at her too. Speaking of which, you ready to give Sikozu a break?"

"What kind of break are we talking about here, Crichton?" She stiffened up, her teeth suddenly on edge.

"Calm your horses, I'm not saying we welcome her back straight away. But I think we should give her the opportunity to win back some trust." Chiana considered for a moment then nodded reluctantly. "Good girl," he stroked her cheek with his finger. "Now, there's work to be done and we're not helping by sitting in here, let's go."

.

..

.

"Ryge, how's little D?" Crichton commed as he walked through the corridors.

"Fine, but I never had to spend this much time with one of my own offspring."

"You're loving it, don't lie to me Sparky. Anyway, I'm just going to check on Aeryn and the girl, see if Sikozu needs a hand with the maintenance and then I'll be by to get him soon. Or Aeryn will. Thanks."

"I shall expect payment."

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..

.

Crichton rounded the corner to where Aeryn was still watching the girl. "Aeryn, what's u-" He didn't get the whole sentence out as, upon seeing him, Aeryn had launched herself at him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and started frantically kissing him.

"Whoa, whoa, Aeryn what are you doing?" He managed to say as he prised his lips away from his wife. In the room, he could see Clarynia repeating her pacing routine even quicker now, managing to only take two or three steps each time before throwing herself on the ground, screaming incoherently and getting up again.

"No talking, just this," she replied in between kisses. He managed to convince her to move away from his mouth, landing her kisses on his head and neck instead.

"Pilot," he commed, "Is Moya leaking Drexim mist by any chance?"

"No Commander, what makes you say that?"

"Just something Aeryn said once about when she was on Talyn. I'll see if I can find a cause here." He cut the comms off and returned his attention to his wife. "Come on Aeryn, cut it out." He tried to force her legs to release from around his waist but she held on tighter. "Somewhere you've got a very hungry son," he tried, but it did nothing to dissuade her. "Alright, let's put you in a cold shower." He moved off down the corridor towards their room, with her still insistently kissing him.

When he was part way to their room her kissing slowed a bit. "John," she started, "There's no particularly good reason why I'm doing this, is there?"

"Not that I can see, no."

She nodded. "Ok, you can probably put me down. I think I can control it now."

He let her down, rubbing his face where it was now irritated from her attentions. "Not that I don't like to get some affection from my wife, but any idea what caused that?"

"No frelling idea, were you affected too?"

"Not that I could tell, but I wasn't there anywhere near as long as you were."

"So, you reckon it's causing the craziness in the girl or she's causing the craziness in me?"

"Might not just be you, Chiana had ripped half her clothes off by the time I found her, and you said she ran off when she saw the girl. And I mean ripped, she'd torn them to pieces with her bare hands."

"Alright, let's see what we can find. And feel free to slap me if I get too, uhh overwhelmed again." He looked at her sideways then nodded.

"Pip, Sikozu, Rygel," he commed as he headed back up the corridor, "Can you meet Aeryn and I at Clarynia's cell? Ryge, leave little D with Pilot. And this girl might be pulling a Traltixx on us, so watch out for that."

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..

.

Crichton and Aeryn hung back, waiting until the others said they were nearly at the cell, so that they would arrive together. Clarynia seemed oblivious to their presence, continuing her strange routine.

"Anyone feeling anything strange?" Crichton asked the assembled crew quietly.

Aeryn could barely tear her eyes away from Crichton but she was managing to control her impulses beyond that. Sikozu giggled at Crichton's question, also staring intently at him. In fact, Crichton realised, all three of the girls were staring at him. Chiana was rubbing her hand sensuously along her stomach and licking her lips while she looked at him.

"Oh kay then… Sparky, you feeling anything different?"

"Impatience, but that's hardly new when around one of your plans."

"Ok, so I guess this is a female-specific thing. The Three Stooges here don't look like they'll be too helpful, guess we'd better go ask the source." He forced his way through the gaggle of female crew members, all of them stroking his arms and torso as he got closer. They tried to follow him, but he managed to lock them on the outside of Clarynia's cell by forcing them to scramble over each other to get to him.

Inside the cell, he turned to the girl. "Clarynia?"

She twitched her face towards him, but continued her routine. Her eyelids were drooping, her eyes bloodshot and puffy.

"Hey, kid, whachya doing?" He tried again, again no response. "Ryge, got any thoughts?"

"How the frell should I know?" The Hynerian replied. Clarynia continued her routine without distraction.

"Does she look… tired to you?"

"Tired? You think she's turned the females in to frell-crazed maniacs because she's tired?"

Crichton shrugged, then took a step closer to Clarynia. "Kid, you gotta stop doing that." She looked warily at him but did not stop her march. "Clarynia, come on, what's going on?"

He sighed, he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to manhandle the girl given how terrified she, perhaps justifiably, felt towards men. Oh well, nothing for it. He quickly moved to her, wrapping his hands around her upper arms and going to throw her up against the bulkhead. But the instant his hands clasped around her she slumped in to him, her head lolling forward and her legs giving out. He managed to lower her to her knees, then wrap his arm around her torso to keep her upright.

"What did you do to her?" Aeryn called. He glanced over his shoulder, the three girls were sane again.

"Nothing, I just touched her." He took his spare hand and lifted her forehead back so that he could see her face. "I- I think she's asleep."


	5. Chapter 5

Aeryn opened the cell door and came over to where Crichton was holding the seemingly asleep Clarynia up. "How could she be asleep?"

"I don't know, I touched her and the next second she fell on me. I did think she was looking tired before that."

Aeryn checked her out as Crichton continued to hold her up. She shrugged, "Put her on the bed?" Crichton lifted her and carried her over, depositing her on her bed. She didn't react at all until he stepped away from her, her eyes opening the instant he stopped touching her. She seemed to struggle to coordinate her limbs for a second then tried to get off the bed. Crichton reached for her arms, and again the instant he touched her she slumped, asleep again. He moved her away from the edge but maintained a hand on her arm.

"So, looks like I'm the magic touch. You want to try grabbing her this time and we'll see how it goes?" He asked Aeryn. She nodded and he removed his hand. Clarynia again started waking up, and this time Aeryn caught her arms.

"Clarynia?" John asked.

"Mmmm," her head lolled, but she caught sight of Crichton and immediately tried to focus on him, almost rolling herself off the bed.

"Whoa, just relax." Aeryn instructed her. "Want to tell us what's going on?" Clarynia looked down, avoiding their gaze.

"We're not going to hurt you," Crichton said. He noticed Aeryn was starting to breathe quickly, looks like the frell-crazed maniacs would be coming back. "You ok?" Crichton whispered at Aeryn.

"It's the paryota," Clarynia said quietly, her head still lolling around like she wasn't quite sure how to keep it still.

Crichton waited for her to continue, then crouched down to her eye level when she seemed reluctant to do so. "What's the paryota?"

"I haven't been mated." She whispered, staring at the floor.

"Clarynia," she flinched at the sound of her name, "You're going to have to use real tiny words here and explain it. Why are the girls going crazy around you?"

"I still have the paryota, I haven't been mated, sir."

"Kid, I'm sorry, but I don't understand what that means."

"I- I've become a woman," she was speaking so quietly now that Crichton was almost struggling to hear her. "But I ran away, I didn't want to mate with the man my father had chosen." Crichton gestured for her to go on. "So the paryota hasn't been cured yet."

"Ok, but that's the paryota? Women in my species don't have this, you're going to have to give me all the basics here."

"It's, umm… It's…" She whispered so quietly that Crichton almost couldn't hear her then returned her eyes to the floor and refused to look up again.

Aeryn cleared her throat. "How about we send the boys away and you tell me?" Clarynia paused then nodded.

"You sure that's a good idea?" John whispered to Aeryn.

"I can handle it, it's not as strong this time," she whispered back. He nodded and left, grabbing Rygel on his way past.

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..

.

"John," Aeryn commed, "You can come back." He quickly walked back in to the cell and over to Aeryn and Clarynia. The girl was lying down on the bed now, but her legs were twitching every few moments. "Ok, put her to sleep." John reached over, touched her arm and she instantly stopped moving. "Right, now sit on the bed."

"Uhh, Aeryn, you feeling ok?"

"I'll explain in a minute, but this will make it quicker. Sit on the bed." He obeyed her command and sat, keeping a hand on Clarynia the whole time. "Now put her on your lap."

"Ok, now I know you're not feeling ok."

"Fine, Crichton, we'll do it your way. As far as I can tell, she said when women of her species hit puberty they become somehow incapable of sleeping without men around. When they don't sleep they give off some kind of pheromone, and perhaps like all bratty teenagers who don't sleep, they can't function properly."

"How the hell is that an evolutionary tactic? How does anyone get anything done in a species like that?"

"It's curable."

"Great, let's cure it then."

"The first time a woman frells someone it's cured."

Crichton stared at her, speechless. He opened his mouth twice without making any noise, before eventually managing, "Any other ways to cure it?"

"Not that Clarynia knows. Normally women are mated pretty quickly after hitting puberty. But there is something we can do to mitigate the effects, she said the greater the contact area is the more 'restful' her sleep is, so the less time it takes her to get enough to function again. So if you put her on your lap it should be quicker."

Crichton looked at her incredulously, then reluctantly reached over and pulled her on to his lap, cradling her head against his shoulder. "Even their evolution needs feminism," he muttered.

.

..

.

Clarynia started to wake up, starting to wriggle in Crichton's arms. "Hey, kid, feeling better?" Sikozu looked up from where she sat on the other side of the room, the others having taken turns to sit with Crichton and his sleeping charge. Clarynia opened her eyes, looking at Crichton's face before quickly averting her gaze. "You alright?"

"Yes, sir," she mumbled.

"You don't have to call me sir, kid." She didn't react, and Crichton gave up. He nudged her legs sideways and she took the hint, climbing off his lap. She moved to the side of the room and stood staring at the ground. "How long do you think it'll be before you need to sleep again?" Crichton asked her.

"I don't know, sir," she whispered.

"Ok, we're going to leave you to it. The DRDs are going to stay here, you just tell one of them if you need anything. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Crichton and Sikozu left, locking the cell door behind them. He turned to Sikozu in the corridor, "Your turn to get locked in for the night, Sputnik?"

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..

.

Crichton found Aeryn and baby D'Argo on the terrace. He came up behind Aeryn, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his chin on her shoulder, looking to D'Argo sleeing on the seat. "Sleeping Beauty finally woke up," he said.

"How was she?"

"Kept calling me 'Sir' and not making eye contact, but definitely more sane." He unwrapped his arms from her and went to sit down. "Sikozu didn't turn in to a rabid sex-crazed maniac either, so a win all round. Well, except for the fact I just spent an afternoon with kid I just met who's barely out of childhood sleeping on my lap, who also seems to think I either want to punch her or frell her or both." He put his face in his hands, rubbing his forehead. "Somehow I've spent the day either threatening to rape my female companions or having them think I'm either about to or already did."

She came over to him, running her hands through his hair as he sat before her. "I didn't think you were going to rape me."

"Ok, you were the only one trying to rape me. But seriously Aeryn, how the hell did I turn in to this?"

"You were trying to save Sikozu from the crazy aliens, she won't resent you for that. And Clarynia's fear isn't directed at you, it's all men because she's all she's ever known. Don't beat yourself up."

He reached up to her waist and pulled her down to sit on his lap. "How is it that my wife is the third woman to sit on my lap today?"

She laughed, "Got something you want to confess? How'd it go with Chiana, anyway?"

"She's, well, I think she's a bit better but it's hard to tell. She blames herself for D'Argo's death, thinks she isn't worthy of living, you know, the usual. Got better when the crazy teenage pheromones wore off."

"Mmmm, the crazy teenage pheromones," Aeryn lent down to Crichton's lips, passionately kissing them. All too soon, however, baby D'Argo started crying.

"Aaaand back to reality," he said. She stood up from his lap and went over to their son, picking him up.

"Did you lock Sikozu in her cell?" She asked as she bounced the baby up and down. He nodded. "Why don't you go get Chiana and meet me at our room."

"Get Chiana?"

"Do you really think she's ready to sleep alone? Remember last night? And that was before crazy teenage pheromones."

"Guess I really am turning in to the womanising misogynist the aliens thought I was," he muttered as he left.

"I heard that, and no you're not," Aeryn called after him.


	6. Chapter 6

"Commander, Officer Sun."

Pilot's voice through the comm system woke Crichton up. "Nyeugh, what is it Pilot?" he managed.

"Sorry to wake you Commander, but the DRDs report that Clarynia is," he paused, "sobbing."

"Ok, thanks Pilot, I'll deal with it."

Aeryn stirred on the other side of the bed, "What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Pilot says the kid's crying. I'll check it out, you stay here with our gnarls and get some sleep." He leaned across the still-asleep Chiana in the middle of the bed to kiss Aeryn's forehead, then checked on Little D as he left the room.

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..

.

John approached Clarynia's cell quietly, hoping to observe her before she saw him. He peered through the bars and saw her sitting on the floor on the far side of the room, knees up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head resting on them. She was crying quietly, small movements most of the time but an occasional complete shake of her small frame. Crichton waved the doors open and shut them behind him, she looked up with a look of terror on her face.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. Just relax," Crichton said soothingly. She clutched her knees closer to her and eyed him warily. He moved towards her slowly, his hands splayed wide in front of him. "I'm not going to hurt you." He stopped about two meters from her and crouched down on one knee, getting himself to her level. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing, sir. I'm sorry to have woken you."

He smiled reassuringly, "It's ok, I won't be mad. I want to try to help you. And you can call me John."

She stared at the ground near his feet and shook slightly.

"Do you want to go home?" She shook her head slightly. "Are you cold? Hungry? Sick?" Again small shakes of the head. "Do you need to sleep again?"

"N-n-no, sir."

"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at playing guess-the-problem," he laughed. She continued staring at the ground near his feet. "I really, really, really am not going to be mad, whatever you say. I won't touch you, I won't do anything to you. I just want to help you."

He waited.

"You met Aeryn, my wife, yesterday. And Chiana and Sikozu. They weren't scared of me, were they? We're a bit different to the people on your planet."

He waited some more.

"Kid, I really just want to help you. You just need to tell me what's wrong so that I can do that."

He waited again.

"I'm scared," she whispered, "And I miss Daryion."

"Who's Daryion?" Crichton kept his voice soft and low, not wanting to spook her.

She fiddled with the hem of her dress, "He's my… friend."

"Does he know you ran away?"

"He… helped."

Crichton nodded, waiting for her to continue. After a minute or two, when she said nothing more, he asked, "Why did you run away, Clarynia?"

She fiddled and fidgeted some more. "I didn't like the man my father had arranged to mate me to. He was mean to me. He killed Oryanla, my pet friaen."Crichton waited for her to go on. "And now my father will be mad. I've brought shame on the family." Tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

"Where were you going to go after you got on our ship, when you decide to run away?"

"I don't know, I just snuck aboard the patrol ship like Daryion said to."

Crichton waited for a moment, an idea forming in his mind. "Claryina, do you love Daryion?"

She blushed and looked down. I'll take that as a yes, he thought.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" She shook her head, shy again. "Ok, well I'm not sure I can solve all of your problems, kid, particularly not at this time of the morning. But I'll talk to the others on the ship, we haven't made any decisions yet about what to do with you. I'm going to go back to bed now, try not to beat yourself up too much." He left.

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..

.

Aeryn was feeding D'Argo when he walked back in to their room, Chiana tangled in the sheets on their bed still asleep. Or perhaps asleep again, he thought, looking to Aeryn with the baby.

"How'd it go with the crying teenager?" Aeryn whispered.

"Good and bad. Didn't fix the crying, but found out some stuff about her. How's it going with the crying baby?"

"He's good, I'm dead tired."

"Me too." He placed his hands on her hips and kissed D'Argo's head then her lips. "I'll get the sheets away from the bed-invader, you come join me when he's done."

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..

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Chiana awoke. She looked over to Crichton and Aeryn, wrapped in each other's arms, looking completely exhausted even though they were asleep. She slipped out of the bed and quietly made her way over to D'Argo's cot. She picked him up then padded out of the room.

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..

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Crichton awoke. His head was on Aeryn's shoulder and his arm was wrapped around her stomach. "Good morning," he murmured. "Can't remember when we haven't been woken up by Little D, although I guess we both already got up to crying gnarls once last night."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "Mmm, nice to just be us two for once. Still, we'd better get back to our – what was it you called them? – dependents before they burn the ship down."

He chuckled and slid off the bed, walking over to D'Argo's cot. "Pilot!" he commed in a panic, "Intruder alert-"

"Commander-" Pilot tried to interrupt him.

"-Are those aliens-"

"Commander-"

"-back on board?-"

"-Chiana has D'Argo," Pilot concluded, speaking over Critchon.

"-They've taken D'Argo!" Both Crichton and Pilot said 'D'Argo' at the same time, confusing Crichton. He paused momentarily, trying to remember what Pilot had been saying, but in his panic he had no idea.

"Commander, Chiana has D'Argo." Pilot took advantage of Crichton's slight pause.

"-Oh."

"They're in the dining hall."

"Thanks, Pilot."


End file.
